ProPho: Beers worth waiting for

Patience, rewarded
By Josh Smith | June 7, 2011
http://providence.thephoenix.com/food/121744-beers-worth-waiting-for/?page=1#TOPCONTENT

Most people agree that fresh is better. The same is true in the world of craft beer. Except when it isn't.

Generally speaking, hops and malts are more flavorful, carbonation is spot-on, and beer just plain tastes better when fresh. Lighter beers in particular can begin to decline in quality after only three months, so consumers should always check the born-on date (and more brewers need to provide said date). Oxidation (where oxygen slowly seeps into the bottle), prolonged exposure to room temperature, or even direct sunlight can make your beer taste stale, flat, sour, or skunky.

That said, some beers don't need to be consumed right away, and could even be better if aged. Barley Wines, Old Ales, Imperial Stouts, Bocks, many Belgian styles, and other beers with high alcohol content can mellow and gain character when aged. Highly hopped beers can also be aged since hops are a natural preservative, but personally I don't want that delicious hop flavor to fade and prefer them fresh. More and more brewers are experimenting with specialty barrel aging (NEWPORT STORM just debuted their CYCLONE SERIES QUINN, a porter aged in rum barrels), but aging is something any beer lover can attempt.

The first step after identifying a beer that should age well is to buy two, drinking and taking notes on the first with which to compare later. Ideally the beer should be stored in cellar-like conditions — consistently cool without contact to direct sunlight. Obviously, waiting is the hardest part; to enjoy the benefits of aging, you'll have to exercise the willpower not to drink the beer for a year or more.

I caught my first glimpse at the potential of vintage beers last year at a STONE BREWING beer dinner at Julian's in Providence. They brought several big beers that aged well, but my favorite was the 2006 IMPERIAL RUSSIAN STOUT. By drinking this alongside the 2009 version, you could see how three years had made it mellower, with a balanced flavor, and very drinkable. Similarly, a highlight from last fall's Beervana Fest in Cranston was BROOKLYN BREWERY's delicate and flavorful 2006 LOCAL 1, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Now a believer in the power of aging, I tracked down a bottle of 2001 GALE'S PRIZE OLD ALE at the British Beer Company restaurant in Walpole, Massachusetts. Sadly, time wasn't kind to the carbonation since it poured almost entirely flat, with an alcohol that was still chocking. I had much greater success with a dusty bottle of 2007 J.W. LEES HARVEST ALE that I found tucked away at my local package store. Four years of aging produced a wonderfully complex, creamy, and sweet Barleywine that demands to be sipped.

Of course, if you want to age beers right, do it yourself. My own ex-beeriment started three years ago when I purchased a pack of DOGFISH HEAD'S IMMORT ALE, an American Strong Ale. I drank the first two immediately, discovering a beer that is copper-ruby in color with a minor head and aroma dominated by raisins, hops, and alcohol. Notes of maple and vanilla join dark fruit and alcohol in the flavor. Mouthfeel was smooth and considerably livelier than I expected.

Skip forward three long years. The final bottle had that same thin beige head, but the "pop!" on opening told me that the beer was still carbonated. Hooray! Hops took on a reduced presence in the aroma, with a brown sugar sweetness taking its place. The maple seemed to be a pillar of the flavor this time around, with a note of oak mixed in. Most amazingly, the alcohol was barely detectable! Supernatural smoothness was still present with hops finally emerging from the background to tickle the tongue.

The mellowing of the alcohol and melding of different flavors allowed the Immort Ale to exceed the initial round of high marks. Three years was just right for this beer while others might peak at 20 years — not knowing what you're going to get is half the fun. So if you'll excuse me, it's time to pick up a few more beers — I'm thinking ALESMITH OLD NUMBSKULL, NORTH COAST OLD RASPUTIN, and TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT 10 — and throw them in the time capsule. It'll just require a little patience.

ProPho: Excellent exbeeriments: The wonderful world of beer blends

Black and Tan and you
By JOSH SMITH November 3, 2010
http://providence.thephoenix.com/movies/110961-excellent-exbeeriments-the-wonderful-world-of-bee/

It is possible go into virtually any bar and order a Black and Tan. And if recent growth continues, soon it may not be the only blended beer available.

In the ever-expanding universe of craft beer, the practice of blending two or more beers together is currently experiencing a renaissance. Of course, bartenders and brewers have been blending beer for centuries. In Belgium, Gueuze style beers have always been created by combining and refermenting old and young Lambics. The first Black and Tans popped up as early as the 18th century, with pub goers ordering a mix of dark and light beers.

Contrary to popular belief, Black and Tans did not originate in Ireland, but in England. (In fact, the term Black and Tan has a very negative connotation in Ireland since that was the same name of a British force that once terrorized the country.) Typically, 50 percent of stout or porter is mixed with 50 percent of bitter, pale ale, or pale lager, producing a flavorful, yet easy-drinking session beer. By far the most common version involves GUINNESS DRAUGHT and BASS PALE ALE.

While most countries simply mix the beers together, in the United States Black and Tans are carefully separated. You start by vigorously pouring half of the Bass into a pint glass (producing a sizeable head will help to separate the beers.) Next, hold a spoon over the glass and flip it upside-down, pouring half of the Guinness slowly over the bottom-side of the spoon. If you are careful not to disturb the "tan" on the bottom, the "black" should layer distinctly on top, giving you a beautiful Black and Tan!

Obviously, some science is at work here. Although it may not look like it, Bass and most other Pale Ales actually have a higher specific gravity (or in non-home-brewing-terms, weight) than Guinness. Guinness' low gravity makes countless other layered blends possible, including "Half and Half" (Guinness and Harp), "Black Castle" (Guinness and Newcastle), "Black Smith" (Guinness and Smithwick's), and "Black and Blue" (Guinness and Blue Moon).

If a bartender can dream up these beers, so can you! I have conducted several exbeeriments (thank you, thank you) with varying success with several of my favorite Stouts and IPAs. Instead of Blue Moon, I've also tried a "Black and Blue" that substituted SEA DOG BLUE PAW WHEAT ALE. That didn't work for me. What did work was a "Black and Red:" Guinness and LINDEMAN'S FRAMBOISE, a raspberry lambic; 20 percent Framboise is more than enough to give this old favorite a sweet new twist.

Not surprisingly, several brewers have attempted to capitalize on the popularity of Black and Tans with bottled versions. YUENGLING BLACK AND TAN is the most visible example, a mixture of their porter and traditional lager. Like many of the bottled Black and Tans, the darker beer dominates and this ends up feeling like a watery porter. MISSISSIPPI MUD is also porter and pilsner, but the most interesting part of this beer is the gimmicky moonshine jug that it comes in. In fact, the only decent bottled Black and Tan that I've had was BERKSHIRE'S "SHABADOO" BLACK AND TAN ALE. Roasted malts, an edge of bitter hops, 6.3% ABV, creamy mouthfeel, drinkability — this beer has it all!

Another favorite bottled beer blend is OLDE BURNSIDE'S DIRTY PENNY, 60 percent Scottish Ale and 40 percent Stout. The result is a unique, sweet brew that is shockingly sessionable. OMMEGANG'S THREE PHILOSOPHERS mixes their quadruple with Lindeman's Kriek to create an unusually strong, dark beer with an exceptionally sour finish. Add in the launch of new blended beers from several elite California brewers — Russian River, Lagunitas, and Firestone Walker included — and a trend is clearly at hand.

Some more traditional beer geeks may cringe at this seeming disregard for the integrity of a brewer's creation. But remember, craft beer is supposed to be fun and innovative! As craft beer grows more sophisticated, enthusiasts must constantly be on guard against the snobbery that plagues some wine drinking circles. So grab a couple your favorite beers and give blending a whirl tonight. You never know what your exbeeriment might produce!

Naughty or Nice

Homebrew number ten continued my recent streak of seasonal beers; this was a stout for those cold winter days. As I mentioned before, rather than play it safe after the disaster of my first stout, I decided to double down. This would be a milk stout. With chocolate, lots of it, and cherries. And chili peppers too! I know I lost a lot of people with that last one, but to them I say, try a bar of chocolate with chillies inside sometime. They belong together.

But it didn't stop here. At some point Dan suggested, mostly in jest, that I should put a cherry in some of the bottles, a chili in others... and not tell people which is which! Brilliant! Naughty or Nice was born. In many ways, this homebrew was more of an adventure than a beer. Totally worth it though.

Josh's Homebrew's Naughty or Nice
Bottle -- Brockton
incredibly explosive on pour, especially when the cherry gets caught in the neck of the bottle... which happens every time. sadly, some beers saw more of my kitchen ceiling than a glass. so it goes. big creamy tan head once you get it out. chocolate, cola, and somewhat peppery nose (more black pepper than the spicy variety though)... and chocolate cocoa powder again dominates the flavor. i was both surprised and pleased to pick up the cherry flavor throughout. you will get some heat that builds in the back of your throat, but overall fits in well, i think. however, when there is a jalapeno in the bottle in place of the cherry, it gets downright spicy. as my dad said, you need a beer to wash down this beer. so there are worse things. lively, as you might expect. medium bodied, not heavy, but also not a session beer for all the powerful factors at work. this was a really fun, interesting beer, but certainly not my finest work.
Score: 4

Fun with pumpkins

This was probably the most excited I have been about Halloween since the age of 5. Yes, 5 -- by the age of 6 I had already developed my current disinterest in candy. But enough about my sad, puritanical life.

This Halloween was exciting since I was going to build a keg out of a pumpkin. And then put my homebrewed pumpkin ale in it. And then drink it! This was going to be big.

Step 1: Now listen carefully because this is the most important step: Find some suckers to allow you to create a keg out of a giant pumpkin inside their house! Ladies and gentlemen, Leanne and Ryan! (Note the lack of alcoholic beverages in front of everyone but myself -- this becomes increasingly relevant as our story goes on...)

Step 2: Find a large knife with which to stab the pumpkin. Remove a lot of pumpkin guts.

Step 3: Secure access to some serious powertools. (Note concerned look on the face of all onlookers...) Now, very carefully drill a hole that is just big enough for... @#$% %^&*! Okay, take a deep breath, we can fix this. RYAN, WHERE IS THE DUCT TAPE?! WHAT?! WHO DOESN'T OWN DUCT TAPE?!?!

Step 4: With the tap "secured" we are ready. It is at this point the relevance of completing Step 1 becomes very evident. Man, Kelly would kill me if I ever did this in our house. Nevermind that, everyone, fill that pumpkin!

Step 5: Wow, that is a lot of beer. Let's seal this up and get started!

Step 6: "You are going to have some, right, Kelly? Where is your cup? Oh, you are full. Okay, how about you, Ryan? What, you are making hot apple cider? Well, that was forseeable... George! My trusty old buddy, George! Here have some delicious pumpkin beer! What? It is too sweet?! BUT THEN WHY ARE YOU DRINKING HOT APPLE CIDER INSTEAD?!?!" Obviously, I proceeded to drink a lot of pumpkin beer. Here is some of the aftermath. Note massive flooding below pumpkin.

To be fair, this beer was much better when I first brewed it. I had heard that spiced beers tend to sour over time, but I never thought it would happen in the span of a couple of weeks. In an effort to fix the problem, I added a brown sugar solution to sweeten the beer, which was definitely an over-correction. So it goes. I thought the beer was still delicious, although the last quarter of a pumpkin was a little heavy. I wouldn't say the pumpkin infused much flavor, but that wasn't really the point, is it? Next time I would better time the brewing, put the pumpkin on ice, and probably get a smaller pumpkin. But again, where is the fun in that? Regardless, I highly recommend trying this yourself next Halloween. Just remember, Step 1 is the most important step.

Beer & Cigars

As we knew he would, Mr. Cedrone stepped right up to the plate to answer our question about what beers go best with cigars. Thank you, sir.

Beer & Cigars

I was at Josh's place over the weekend when he mentioned that he wanted my take on what beers go well with cigars. I became very excited and smoked all of his cigarillos to warm up the pallet. (Don't worry, I purchased a replacement box for him). This put me in the right frame of mind to come up with a list of my favorites.

Pairing cigars with beer is a very subjective thing. Of course I mean this to a certain extent. If your opinion is that a cigar goes well with a bottle of Corona, then your opinion is wrong. However, I've heard convincing arguments out of two camps regarding smokes and beer.

1. Conflicting Flavors: Some people feel that the best way to fully excite the pallet is to pick a beer that actually fights against the flavors of the cigar. They find it enjoyable to go from a light citrus beer to a bold dark puff on a cigar, back to the light drink. I can see the appeal here for some people but to me, it's just too much going on at once.

2. Complimenting Flavors: This is the what I prefer as it simply makes more sense to me. The idea here is to pick flavors that work together. Light with light, dark with dark. It's a simple formula that ultimately leads to a greater enjoyment of both flavors.

Here are my favorite pairings. Below are 4 common types of cigars and my top 3 beer pairings with each type including a home brew of Josh's making the cut!

Light and Earthy
1. Allagash White
2. Delerium Tremens
3. Southern Tier Hop Sun

Buttery and Creamy
1. Oskar Blues Old Chub
2. Ale Smith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
3. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

Spicy and Peppery
1. Clipper City Heavy Seas Red Sky
2. Chimay Red
3. Josh's Homebrews It Must Be Wedding Saison

Bold Maduros
1. Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
2. Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
3. Founders Breakfast Stout

Of course this is all subject to change should I ever be able to get my hands on anything from these guys.

Malt Liquor Madness

Beer tasting parties are something I have been wanting to try, but I knew my friends weren't quite ready for it. Now don't get me wrong, they have been really good sports about my beer fetish by going to brewpubs most every weekend and trying countless styles of beer. But that doesn't mean they have always liked it. With this in mind, Malt Liquor Madness was born.

To begin, I had to find 8 different kinds of malt liquor, which was harder than you might think. Seven liquor stores later, I had my lineup of contenders and started peeling labels so that this could be a blind taste test. All of my friends participating were then given a scorecard with space for tasting notes on each of the five categories (I was the only one to actually take down notes...) and were asked to give the beer an overall score from 5 to 1. (Odds are the best malt liquor in the world is a 5 on a 10 point scale, so this worked out about right...) As for the tournament, there would be four contenders going head-to-head on either side of the bracket, with the two beers receiving the highest total of points from the judges advancing to the finals. (20oz was split nine ways into clear solo cup so that there would be enough left if that beer advanced to the championship match...) With all of this worked out, we were ready to start.

And as samples of contender number one were being passed around, every single person at the party asked me what a malt liquor is. Oi. Okay, let's take a step back. Beer advocate?

"For the most part, Malt Liquor beers are sold in the infamous 40 oz sized bottles. Straw to pale amber in color, most use excessive amounts of adjuncts, such as corn, rice, refined brewers sugar (dextrose) and as a result there are very few "all malt" brewed malt liquors. Hops are barely used, just enough is added to balance off any cloyingness. Higher alcohol versions tend to have a loads of fusel alcohol, which gives off solvent or fuel like aromas and flavors. They are attenuated very well, meaning a higher ratio of fermentable sugars are present over other beers, but without using as many ingredients and still ending up with a high alcohol content. Some breweries enable the use of special enzymes to further breakdown the malt and adjuncts so they will yield a larger percentage of alcohol. This makes for quite a dry beer, with only a small amount of unfermented sugars and a kick that will knock you on your ass."

Bottom-line? It's a macrolager with alcohol. Our contenders started at 5.6% abv and topped out at 8.1% (Steel Reserve). This was one of the reasons I chose malt liquor; even in the small samples we were doing, you will feel the alcohol a little. That would not be the case with the Bud Light's and Coor's. I originally toyed with the idea of doing this tournament with these macrolagers but feared that when something like Miller Light won, people would take it as an endorsement to drink that vile stuff. I doubt we will have that problem with malt liquor. (Although, I will say I was surprised to the extent that all of these beers were owned by the big boys... probably should have seen that coming.) Alright, let's do this! I will list these in the order that they finished, with my own notes and score below. May the best malt liquor win! Please?

#8 Steel Reserve 211
40 oz -- Shovel Shop Spirits, Easton
hold on, steel reserve finished dead last?! you have got to be kidding me! i don't think these people are even qualified to rate malt liquor! okay, deep breath. this malt liquor from texas was my favorite beer of them all. good head retention and actually has an aroma of light malt and even a few faint hops. corn isn't the only flavor going on, with some clean malts and not unpleasant alcohol. i will actually buy this again. i think the problem was that this was the first beer tasted of the night, and for most people the first malt liquor they had ever tasted... well, live and learn.
Score: 5

#7 Mickey's
22 oz -- Blanchard's, Brockton
owned by miller. i had high expectations for mickey's as well, but i can't disagree with the low rating. i found this to be very watery.
Score: 2

#6 King Cobra Premium Malt Liquor
40 oz -- Cheers, Brockton
a product of A-B. very bland, with the little flavor being corn. light bodied. very bad.
Score: 1

#5 Colt 45 Malt Liquor
40 oz -- Shovel Shop Spirits, Easton
from pabst, the classic 40. picked up some faint hops here. taste is quite sweet. very creamy mouthfeel. really what you would expect in a malt liquor. that said, i wish i had liked this more than i did.
Score: 2

#4 Haffenreffer Private Stock
40 oz -- Shovel Shop Spirits, Easton
in my mind, this was the favorite going in. very classy label stating that this has "the imported taste." funny. again, misseeding may have cost them here as this was the last beer of the night... this was the hoppiest of the beers in my opinion (which isn't saying much), but bitterness does show up here. as a result, it was also the most balanced.
Score: 4

#3 Olde English 800
40 oz -- Shovel Shop Spirits, Easton
A-B. raw taste of corn and water. very light. very unpleasant. nevertheless, it only missed advancing to the finals by one vote! oi.
Score: 1

#2 St. Ides High Gravity Malt Liquor
40 oz -- Blanchard's, Brockton
this pennsylvania malt liquor advanced to the finals from the first bracket. fresh malt, lots of corn, and very creamy. fairly well constructed. my third favorite of the contenders.
Score: 3

#1 Molson XXX
22oz Can -- Blanchard's, Brockton
molson xxx?! in a landslide?! what a shocker! well, this was the only contender coming from a can and weighs in at 7.3% abv. husky alcohol, grainy, with some bitterness. in no way pleasant to drink. to be absolutely clear, i in no way endorse this beer. the only lesson to take away from this little experiment is what a bunch of savages my friends are. apparently it is going to have to be a while longer before i have a proper beer tasting party. or as dan suggested, we may need to get some new beer friends.
Score: 2

Breakfast stouts!

That is right: stout for breakfast! Yes, your friends will probably think you have a problem, but the right stout (think coffee, oatmeal, or even chocolate) will put any mimosa to shame!

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
22 oz -- Cork's Fine Wine & Liquors, Mansfield
moving your friends at 9 am on a saturday is an occassion that definitely calls for a breakfast stout. this was a good one too. great smell of coffee beans, vanilla, and a general roastiness. taste is very similar, with just the right ammount of coffee flavor and a slight alcoholic edge (although the 8% abv is very well hidden...) flavor definitely deepens as this beer warms: roasted coffee beans, cocoa, dark chocolate. you can really drink this beer at room temperature. texture is quite velvety, and with medium body and carbonation drinkability is quite high. i'll definitely be getting this one again!
Score: 9

Legacy Nor'easter
750 ml -- Luke's, Rockland
an oatmeal stout. overly carbonated upon opening... not good. rich, heavy aroma that fills nostrils. taste is quite dark: oatmeal, molasses, coffee, chocolate. mouthfeel is a little weak: thin, grainy, and not especially smooth or creamy. a good beer but i probably wouldn't return to it as a breakfast stout.
Score: 7

The Ultimate Breakfast Stout:
Founders Breakfast Stout
750 ml -- Luke's, Rockland
first of all, it is actually called a breakfast stout! secondly, this is unquestionably the best label i have ever seen: a little kid with a bib housing a bowl of oatmeal. standard stout pour that lets no light through and produces a big tan head. the smell hits your nostrils as soon as you pull off the bottle cap... very sexy. sour mash of many of my homebrews gives way to... spanish olives?! that is a first. on closer inspection roast, sweet chocolate and faint hops emerge in aroma. fitting for a breakfast stout, you taste the coffee from start to finish, accompanied by generous hops and some dark molasses. there is a sharp edge to the flavor, but it isn't an off-putting alcohol like you find in many imperial beers. smooth and creamy going down, but meant to be savored; i literally spent 2 hours drinking it! as the #15 beer on beeradvocate, this is the highest rated beer i have drank. i completely agree and cannot identify a single blemish in this beer. i cannot think of a better way to start your day!
Score: 10

HOMEBREWING!

Well, you probably saw this coming. Starting to brew my own beer has been in the back of my mind for about a year now. When Kelly and I were looking for new apartment's, my biggest questions concerned access to a garage in which I could start my brewery. Things began to get serious when I purchased The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by master brewer Charlie Papazian. Come the Fourth of July weekend, Dan, Kelly, and I were en route to Walpole Wine & Spirits, which also had a pretty decent homebrewing section.












Now I don't like shopping, but on matters of great importance I am very deliberate. I examined all the different homebrewing kits, checking the equipment included with my notes on what I would need. (It was upon opening one of the kits up that I drew the ire of the stores staff...) One of the biggest decisions was whether to buy one of those easy homebrewing kits, or a brown bag that the store had put together with all of the ingredients needed for that recipe. I chose the later since they included the style I had finally settled on: a pale ale.











$225 later I was the proud owner of: 6-gallon carboy, 7-gallon food grade quality plastic bucket and lid, 16-quart stainless steel pot, funnel and strainer, 2 plastic hose, racking cane, bottle filler, spigot, airlock, hydrometer, thermometer, 24 glass bottles, cleaning brush, bottle caps, bottle capper, 2 cans and 1 bag of malts, 2 packages of hops, and 1 package of Irish moss. (36 more bottles, bleach, and a stirring spoon I had at home.) Now it was time to start brewing!











In many ways, this was the easy part. I quickly decided homebrewing is more cooking (something I can do) than chemistry (something I cannot do.) For those of you who are interested, here is a stripped-down list of the steps to brewing your very own pale ale:

1) Put bag of grain malts in a gallon of water to steep and bring to boil.

2) Remove grains. Add two 4 lb cans of malt extracts and 1 oz of Liberty hops. Boil for 30 min, stirring constantly.

3) Add 1 oz of Cascade hops and Irish moss. Boil for 15 min more.

4) Strain pot (this is called wort) into 6-gallon carboy (glass jug) filled with 4-gallons of cool water.

5) When temperature is below 90 degrees, add yeast and agitate carboy. Place airlock on top of container. Let ferment for 10 days in a cool, dark place. Do not -- under any circumstances, as much as you may want to, as good as it may look, as much as she may try to seduce you -- drink the wort.

6) Siphon beer into bucket with 2 cups of sugar at bottom. Pour beer into bottles and seal with bottle cap.

7) Age for 16-18 days. This, obviously, was the hardest part.

8) Drink the beer!











You can see that homebrewing really isn't that difficult... although I suppose I should withhold judgement until I try the beer first. Really, the waiting is the hardest part (that wort is a delicious smelling temptress!). Which brings me to the name of my first beer: The Waiting Is The Hardest Part Pale Ale. Ratings to come in another 10 long days.

Black and tans

So I promised in my last post to expand on my last drink of the night at Owen O'Leary's: a Black & Tan. Now my experience with Black & Tan's is limited to Saranac's B & T and Olde Burnside's Dirty Penny. I really enjoyed the last of these, so thought I would give the style a little more thought. A B & T is a blended beer that layers a dark and a light beer and is generally done by bartender's. More and more brewer's have started to get into the act as well, although it is still not considered a traditional style. I am not sure what I think of the style, so I tried a few on my own.

Owen O'Leary's Black & Tan: Guiness & Owen's IPA
Sample -- Owen O'Leary's, Brockton
i was curious to see what owen's made their black and tan's with since the darkest house beer was an irish red. sure enough, they went with guiness... interesting. this was entirely separated when served: stout on top, ipa on bottom. hardly any aroma and guiness rules the taste, with few if any hops making their presence known. in this case, blending the two beers essentially just lightened up the guiness. i found the end product to be fairly bland: making a black and tan with two watery beers, of course yields a very watery result.
Score: 4

Black & Tan: Avery Out of Bounds Stout & Trinity IPA
Bottle's -- Gordon's, Waltham
so the next day -- after cooking out for the 4th -- i blended my own black and tan with two beers dan had left in my fridge from the previous week. these two mixed together without any problem, and was, not-surprisingly, fairly dark (much like the most popular black & tan, mississippi mud.) roasted malts rule both aroma and taste. hops do appear in finish, although they are sufficiently dulled by stout. better, but still not quite what i am looking for.
Score: 5

Black & Tan: Ipswich Oatmeal Stout & Geary's Pale Ale
Bottle's -- Wine Basket, Brockton
okay, one last try here. so before i paired a weaker stout with a strong ipa. let me try it with a bolder stout and more balanced pale (not to mention, two of my favorite beers...) again, mixes well (i am not quite sure how the bartender did that...) smell of coffee is foremost here, but you have to dig for it. flavor is again of roasted malts, but bitter hops come through much more this time... as bitter sweet chocolate. i like how this one came together, but i am not sure the sum adds up to either of its parts...
Score: 7

Conclusion: Black & Tan's, while kind of a fun idea, have a limited purpose. I suppose if you want to drink a few dark beers, you could lighten it up with a few of these. That said, while some of the characteristics of the lighter beer can come through in the right circumstances, more often it will just dilute the darker beer. If you think about it, brewer's would blend it for you if it really was better. I may order a black & tan when desperate at a bar, but I wouldn't recommend using your quality beers to do so. No regrets though -- this was an interesting exercise.

A Few Strong Beers

Weyerbacher Merry Monks' Ale
Bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
an abbey tripel at 9.3% abv. cloudy golden-orange with head chock full of tight bubbles... aroma and flavor are muted at first so i let it warm up a little... yup, sure enough, that did the trick. aroma is both sweet and a little fruity... taste more of grape than banana... smooth but chewy mouthfeel and very dry. definitely a sipping beer with so much warming alcohol.
App: 3/5, Aro: 6/10, Flv: 6/10, Pal: 3/5, Ovr: 13/20, Tot: 3.1
Score: 7

Avery The Czar
Bottle -- Cardoza's, Dartmouth
brown-crimson pour... aroma and taste of supersweet molasses, cherry candies, and some submerged alcohol... some bitter hops in midst of flavor, not in finish... while i was interested in drinking this beer, i can't say it was wholly enjoyable. and at 12.2% abv the alcohol goes right to your head.
Appearance: 3/5, Aroma: 5/10, Flavor: 4/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 8/20, Total: 2.3
Score: 5

My favorite:
Dogfish Head Immort Ale
Bottle -- Gordon's, Waltham
i saw this listed as both a barleywine and american strong ale -- i would side with the later considering it is 11% abv. copper-ruby with almost no head on pour... accompanied by aroma that is hard to place -- raisins, hops, and alcohol are the dominant characteristics i eventually decide. raisins and alcohol dominate flavor as well, although i do pick up on the maple and vanilla that dogfish promised us. livelier than i expected with such a minimal head, it was the smoothness and complexity that took this to another level. this will more than fit the bill for the type of beer that i was looking to age, so if the blog is still around in a couple of years (lord, i hope not...) i will be writing about this one again!
App: 4/5, Aro: 8/10, Flv: 10/10, Pal: 5/5, Ovr: 18/20, Tot: 4.5
Score: 9